A giant tree is seen uprooted in HCMC yesterday after the tropical low hit the city on Sunday - Photo: Anh Quan

HCMC – A tropical low that hit southern Vietnam on Sunday caused minor property damage but disrupted traffic, according to reports from the provinces affected by the freak weather.

Le Tuan Quoc, director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that although his province suffered major impact from Typhoon Pakhar that weakened into a tropical low when making landfall, no significant loss of properties, agriculture or aquaculture was recorded.

In particular, 104 houses were blown down, and 1,000 had roofs blown off. Of the 3,250 fishing boats taking shelter in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, only seven incurred any damage.

Phung Thi Tho, chairman of La Gi Town, Binh Thuan Province, said the storm blew the roofs off over 300 coastal houses and seven schools, blew down a house, but local residents were safe and sound after they had earlier been evacuated to safety.

She added that residents returned on Monday to deal with the storm’s aftermath and repaired the damaged houses. Many fishermen have also resumed their offshore fishing.

Meanwhile, Le Van Thom, vice chairman of HCMC’s Can Gio District, said that over 30 houses in the communes of Binh Khanh, Tam Thon Hiep, Thach An and An Thoi Dong were swept away or unroofed.

Tran Thien Ha, director of the HCMC Park and Green Tree Company, said as of 7 a.m. on Monday, around 300 trees had been uprooted or broken by the strong winds, hindering traffic, but at noon traffic returned to normal.

According to the HCMC Center of the Urban Flood Control Program, torrential rain has flooded several key traffic routes. As of Monday morning, the roundabout at the end of Khanh Hoi Bridge was still submerged in water, forcing vehicles traveling from Ham Nghi Boulevard to re-route to the riverside lane of Ton Duc Thang Street.

* Both local and foreign airlines were forced to cancel, delay or change landing and departure schedules for over 20 flights to and from Tan Son Nhat International Airport on April 1 due to strong winds and torrential rains triggered by the tropical low.

The flight operation center at Tan Son Nhat airport said winds at 50-60 kilometers per hour, coupled with heavy rain in the afternoon and evening of Sunday, hindered landings and departures of Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Air Mekong and VietJetAir aircraft.

Vietnam Airlines had more than 10 flights affected on that day. A deputy director of the flight operation center told the Daily on the phone that airlines had to divert a number of their flights for temporary landing in the central coastal city of Danang and other airports to wait for weather around Tan Son Nhat Airport to improve.

VietJetAir said on the phone that its flight planned to leave Noi Bai airport in Hanoi at 6:45 p.m. on Sunday was delayed until on Monday morning.

Lufthansa, Air France, Malaysia Airlines and Turkish Airlines were among the carriers affected by the tropical low as well.